Winter Collage

We are having a fantastic winter. Here is my first collage I created using Picasa3. Quick, easy. Hopefully, I can make a few more of these!

A beautiful picture

The first fire of this season, with roasting marshmallows.

Joanna's Potty Adventure

Joanna went to the potty last night at about 8:15 p.m. She just took a notion to go and went in the bathroom, shut the door, and went potty. I walked in and saw that she did it. I was so amazed. Later, she went again and when I walked in, I saw she was even using a little toilet paper. I broke out the "pull-ups" and we cheered for her. This morning, I asked her if she wanted to go potty and she said yes and shooed me out of the bathroom so she could go potty. I don't have my hopes up that she has just instantly learned, but that is sure what it looks like.

On Thanksgiving, Jason, Joanna, Thomas and I were at my dad's and Joanna said she needed to go potty and my aunt took her to the bathroom. Joanna didn't want to go on the potty once she got in there, but I think it was the first time she genuinely wanted to go potty in the bathroom.

Joanna almost ran out into the road.

Joanna almost ran out into the road yesterday. It was terrifying. I caught her by the hood of her gray hooded jacket about 4 or 5 feet from the road. A car was coming and Joanna was toddling at high speed straight to Nanna's house saying, "Nana, bop bop, slide" and seeming to completley block out my ever escalating screams of "Joanna stop!" As I jerked her up, I popped her on the bottom several times and hugged her tight. I don't ever want her to do that again.

I feel 10 years older now. No wonder my mom said I gave her gray hair.

Joanna said "I love you, Thomas"

I took the kids out to work today. Before we left the driveway, just after Joanna and I managed to buckle her seat belt, she said "I love you, Mommy. I love you, Thomas." That was so cute! She was a doll all day.

Thomas had his first bottle today

Thomas had his first bottle today. Nana gave it to him! She said he drank it right down and acted like he'd drink some more.
Thomas stayed with Nana, Pappy, and Joanna and I went to the gym for a pilates class. I feel pretty good today after exercising.

Verb Conjugation and Irregular Verbs List

http://abacus-es.com/sat/verbs.html

Our Baby Story - Thomas

On Sep 14, 2009, I went to work as if it was a normal day. I noticed I started having mild contractions and I was a little distracted at work. A couple of times, I told Marsha, "I should probably just go on home." I stayed and ate lunch. Mike swiped Bill's peach and the three of us ate it as we sat eating lunch along with Robin at the farmhouse table. I headed out to my doctor's appointment.

My doctor told me I could "go at any time" and asked if I would like to be induced. I told him no. I wanted the experience of going into labor on my own and Jason bringing me to the hospital. So, he sent me home! I called Jason and gave him the news. He figured it was still days away, but I had a plan. I'd been talking about cajun catfish and I figured I'd see if I could find any at the store. Jason had looked when he was there last, but didn't find any.

I found a small pack of cajun chicken breasts and decided to buy ingredients for chili along with some other groceries (such as cereal bars) that I wanted to have at home when we arrived after our stay at the hospital.

Once at home, I put the chicken on the Foreman grill and started my chili.
Jason called and let me know his friend had invited him out to dinner. I thought that was great and hoped he had a good time. I told him I had chili for dinner, but him going out to eat was just fine. (Chili is always good as leftovers.)

After I enjoyed my spicy chicken I made a few calls. I gave my mom and dad the update and gave my brother- and sister-in-law a call as well. I invited them over to have some chili since they hadn't eaten. I think I was on the phone with my dad when I heard a knock at the door. It was Jon and Barbara. I didn't expect them, but there they were! They wanted to come visit in case I went into labor. We ate chili and Joanna came home from Nana's and we all went for a walk and let Joanna play at the park. Barbara's kidneys were hurting her but she was a trooper anyway. She played with Joanna and helped her go on the slide. Back at home, Jon colored with Joanna and I took a shower.

At 8:30, I was getting out of the shower when my first "real" contraction started. I wasn't 100% sure it was active labor yet, but around 8:45 I told Barb that we ought to start timing them! They were around 5-7 minutes apart already. I remembered the doctor said to call once the contractions were 5 min apart for 2 hours. So I waited. I called Jason and told him that and he figured he still had some time. He and his friend had finished dinner and were just chatting. I told him that Jon and Barb were with me and he wished I would have told him that they came over. I told him something like they came to see me, ha ha! So, he wasn't in a huge hurry to come home yet. I wasn't worried either.

However, about 9:30, the contractions started getting closer. I called Jason and told him he'd better get here, NOW! It was really close to time to go I had already called Nana and let her know that Joanna would be coming back over! I started packing Joanna a bag of clothes and Barbara washed our dishes and helped give Joanna a bath.

Once out of the bath and in her pajamas, Joanna ran around the house in circles, sensing the excitement, I guess. Keeping busy between contractions wasn't too hard.
At one point, I folded a few clothes, but soon became too distracted to do that!

Amusingly, Chris's girlfriend called. She was in Chris' car, broke down with Tim at Food City. She'd already talked with Dewayne (I later learned that he actually told her not to call us.) and he was going to help her, but she wanted to know something about the battery with the car. I let her know that Jason wasn't going to be able to help tonight since we would be quite busy. (I was a little ticked at the principle that one really shouldn't call the previous owner of a car a whole year later to find out service history info about a car.)

Once Jason was home, I tried calling the doctor. I had to punch in a callback number in order to leave a message and I ended up putting in Nana's number! Barbara took over at this point and left a message that we were heading in.

Joanna was happy to go to Nana's. She even knew to take her bag. She had it and was ready at the door for Daddy to take her to Nana. Daddy wasn't in a hurry though. He chatted with Nana for a few minutes. Barbara helped me repack my bag really quickly. I had a last-minute change of heart about which bag to take. Well, it was more like I needed more space to shove in last minute things, like Jason's clothes! :-)

We were off at a about 15 minutes past 10 pm in our Honda Service Loaner CR-V to the hospital. Did I feel every bump in the road or what? We made a few phone calls to tell everyone that it was time! My mom was sick as a dog at home and we told her we'd call again when we got to the hospital for an update. She wanted to come, but we were assured by the nurse that they wouldn't let her come in there since she was sick.
Also, she wasn't sure what exactly she had, so it would have been awful to get us all sick!

I think we were at the hospital about 10:30. We went right up to the labor and delivery area as directed by my doctor, but a nurse sent me to triage and Jason down to registration. There were two other ladies there at the same time as me. I waited and listened as the nurse instructed the first lady about what to do with the gown and the bag for personal belongings. Then it was my turn. She showed me the room I should go in after dressing and finally a nurse came in to examine me. I was at 8 cm. Doctor Stephens was on duty that evening. He came in and introduced himself and he sent me over to labor and delivery. I had him get my cell phone from my bag so I could call and tell Jason to hurry up so he wouldn't miss the baby being born!

Once in labor and delivery, the head nurse came in and started my IV and positioned the fetal monitors on my belly. She let me know my nurse, Lindsay B. was on her way in. Her personality was a lot like my best friend, Audry, so that made me really happy and as "at ease" as I could be, but not by much! Jason arrived from registering me and
another nurse came and asked me loads of questions.

Jason was helping me count and breathe up to this point, but I wasn't very cooperative! At one point, I was looking away from him and told him he wasn't being very convincing! The nurse asked me if I wanted a wet wash cloth, and I just said, "o.k." It was surprising how the cold rag on my neck actually was nice.

I got an epidural, but since it was so late, it didn't take all the pain away. I'm so thankful for the relief that I had. It was much easier to labor then! I felt like it was time to push and I let the nurse know. My water still had not broken, so she checked me (I was at 10 cm) and she had me push to see if I was ready to push. I was. She called the doctor and they broke my water. I pushed 5 times and I did a fair amount of hollering at this point and Jason told me the nurses at out in the main area commented about hearing me yell.

Thomas arrived at 12:13 a.m. I got to hold him, but not for long. The nurse took him and started cleaning him. Jason and I watched the nurse clean him off. She brought him back to us then and we got to hold him for a while. I don't remember if I told Jason to go tell everyone he was here or if Jason thought of it. However, Jason went out and gave everyone the good news.

Welcome Thomas Michael!

Thomas Michael was born on September 15 and was 10 lbs 1.4 oz and 21
1/4 inches long.

Here are some photos!
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=amyjokidd&target=ALBUM&id=5384683600852177393&authkey=Gv1sRgCKj9ifT19sKBSw&invite=CJO6rC4&feat=email

LLL Meeting

I went to a La Leche League meeting today. It was very helpful, but
mostly encouraging. It was nice to be around other mothers and babies.

Joanna says "mine, mine, mine!"

Joanna really likes the word "mine" now. She figured it out a short while

back and everything is "mine!" She says, "No, Mommy, that's mine!" and
wants me to get off of the chair. It's kind of cute. With the new baby
coming, I'm sure that she'll say everything in the house is "mine" when he
comes home.

We got her "Tinkerbell" sheets and beadspread for her big bed. She really
likes them. We wanted her to have something clearly her own. And we are
moving her into the full bed. Maybe this will be fun for her. We read
stories in the bed last night and will do it again tonight. Perhaps
tomorrow we will put her to bed in her big bed.

Lazy bones

I told Jason that this baby doesn't move around as much as Joanna did. He said, "I hope he doesn't turn out to be a lazy bones."

I laughed and said, "Well, I was just hoping he'll just be laid back like you."

Corn on the Cob

Fresh corn on the cob is great. You get a good ear right from the garden and pop it open, but there is usually a little corn worm feasting on a few kernels near the top of the ear. No big deal, just chop it off and boil the rest of that yummy ear of corn for a few minutes and enjoy.

There's nothing like a good, fresh ear of corn. But, the same as in life, you have to deal with the worm. The question is, will you throw out the whole ear and go hungry for fear of the worm? Or will you get rid of the worm and seize the corn for yourself?

When I was small, I stayed a weekend with my Dad when he lived in a single-wide trailer on my Grandmother's farm. He had opened a can of corn from our local grocery store which begins with an "I" and I feasted on the delicious kernels. (Yes, I have always liked corn.) To my great surprise, there was a big ol' fat worm in the can. Of course, after that, I couldn't eat any more of the corn. Dad put the corn back in the can and sat it in the fridge to take it back to the store, I suppose to get a replacement. It turns out that a day or so later, he forgot about the worm and was hungry and the remaining corn, worm and all. He recalled to me that he sure felt silly when he remembered what he had eaten.

Joanna Hollers "Daddy, Drink"

Last night Joanna and I were reading "Llama, Llama, Red Pajama" and got to the page where "Baby llama wants a drink" and Joanna says,"Drink?" and starts hollering, "Daddy, drink! Daddy, drink!" She climbed down out of the bed and went to seek out Daddy and her drink. I just thought this was so funny that she was hollering for Daddy to get her the drink when I was sitting right there with her!

Happy 4th

We went to my mom's house today for the 4th.

Joanna was cute this morning.

Normally, when I drop Joanna off at Nana's, we go through a routine and say goodbye at the door. Joanna usually waves to me and watches me go across the lawn to the road. This morning, she was interested in playing on the couch when it was "time for mommy to go to work." So, I just waved and said "bye bye ... I love you," and she waved to me and said "bye bye, mommy" from the couch. I stepped out the door and Nana spoke to me from inside the screen door for a few moments. She asked if Jason was upset that Joanna was in time out when he came to get her yesterday. I said that I didn't think so. He did mention it, but he did so with more of a matter-of-fact tone.

I turned to walk away and Joanna came up to the door to see me as I walked past the flag and said "bye, bye mommy" and blows me a big kiss! That was really nice and made my day.

Time for the Fetal Movement Chart

Today, I've started keeping the Fetal Movement Chart. The goal is to take a time period during the day to keep track of fetal movements. The baby is supposed to move 10 times within a 2-hour period. I remember the last time I did this, that it usually doesn't even take that long. My first observation today was right on with the previous pattern. Between 3:25 and 3:50p.m. he moved 10 times.

Joanna at the Movies

Joanna went on her first trip to the movies with Nana and had a good time at the movies yesterday. It mayhave been because there were so many children there. I'm really glad. I asked Joanna if she liked the movie and she smiled and nodded her head yes.

I hope that her recent teething is finally over because she slept like a log all night long and did not wake up early and woke up in a good mood.

She's such a good girl.

While she was taking a bath last night, I got her to put the bath bubbles on my face. She did this repeatedly until all the bubbles in the entire bathtub were dissolved (that didn't take too long, though) and she had a blast, laughing the whole time!

She really has a good time rough housing with Daddy. He lets her jump all over him and off of him. They do pile ups with Joanna and the pillows and stuffed animals and she lays really still and Daddy says "Where'd Joanna go" and hunts all over for her until she pops out of the pile with a big smile on her face.

Joanna talked to Nena on the Phone

Last night, Joanna talked to Nena on the phone. I held it up to her ear and she listened and talked and everything. She even said, "bye" when she was done talking.

No Photo Icons in Finder... All This Time!

http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-80157.html

Now that I'm setting up my Mom with an iMac, I thought to look up a possible solution to a problem I've had with my Mac so she wouldn't have to deal with it, too!

I just learned that I could have told my Mac to show thumbnails as the icons for images in the finder window. OH MY GOSH. I've been using and really liking my Mac for years now, but I have always thought that there was no way to see photo thumbnails as the image icons. I've been using iPhoto, religiously, because of this, which has not turned out to be bad at all. I've managed to keep my photos consistenly imported and organized in iPhoto. I feel so silly now.

Baby Boy is moving around a lot now.

I'm really starting to feel this little baby move around a lot now.

The lion and the lamb

A neat blog post:


http://awedmanor.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/the-lion-and-the-lamb/

Labor Day

Labor Day is on Sep 7. Wouldn't it be hilarious if I went into labor on
that day! Ha ha! :-)

Twice-Soaked Beans

I'm trying something new with beans: soaking them twice.

After they soaked all night, I drained and rinsed them, but put them back in a pot of fresh water to soak again all day.

I'm hoping that it will make eating the beans a much less gassy experience. I'm also hoping that this will not make them too mushy, though.

Update: It worked!

A date

Jason and I took Joanna to Neena's and Paw Paw's on Saturday. Jason and I went on a date! We saw the movie, "Taken" at the $4 movie theater and went shopping. We had a really nice time. Joanna didn't even cry or look sad when we left her. She has so much fun at Neena's and Paw Paw's house. In fact, she napped on the way there and woke once we pulled right up in front of their door. She knew right away where we were and got all excited wanting out of the car! She said, "Paw Paw!" when she saw where we were.

Joanna on the Dining Room Table

Firday morning, Joanna climbed up on the dining room chair all by herself. I thought that was nice and let her be while I fixed her breakfast. However, I turned around a few moments later to see Joanna standing tall on the dining room table. She had the "ta da!" look on her face. I simply
said, "Joanna. No climbing on the table," and got her down. I figured the worst thing I could do about this would be to make a huge deal about it. So far, it has been day three since and she hasn't tried it again.

Fwd: Joanna's Teething, Not Sick.

She's getting top molars in the back top. (I got a good look at the bottom row and she looks to have all her teeth in the bottom, now.) The doctor recommended that we use motrin because it may be more effective on the tooth pain. I picked some up from Walgreens. Joanna took it just fine. She has an elevated temperature of 99.7, but not a fever. She was probably pulling her ears because of the pain of her molars. Her ears looked great. The doctor said she has a little boy Joanna's age and he is going through the exact same thing right now and it explains her tough behavior and impatience.

Joanna sang herself to sleep

Last night, Jason watched Joanna as I went to a funeral in Lenoir City for my Great Aunt. Jason did great with her. He said that as she fell asleep, she sang her mommy song. It goes "A mommy, a mommy, a mommy." That was so sweet! :-)

Whee

Joanna says "Whee" in the car sometimes. Usually right when we leave the driveway or sometimes if something interesting happens on the road, like going down a hill. It's so neat. I reckon she likes riding in the car.

I found out

I wasn't going to find out, but this morning, right before the ultrasound, I decided I really wanted to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. I asked Jason if he wanted to know. He said either way was O.K. with him. I then decided to change my mind. I had been saying all along that I wanted to wait and not spoil the surprise. I just had to know and I found out that it's a boy.

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was a very nice weekend. I had Good Friday off of work, and Joanna and I spent the day together.

We went to her 18-month checkup and went shopping for Easter shoes. At Payless, Joanna enjoyed trying on the shoes, but we ended up going to Walmart for a pair of shoes I had seen on an earlier shopping trip. Lucky for us that we did. As we were checking out, Joanna spotted the Easter bunny. She waved at him and we went over to see him. She reached out both her arms to him and opened and closed her hands as if to say "Gimme gimme" and the bunny obliged. I said that I wished I had a camera and lo and behold, there was an employee with a camera and there
eas a rocking chair and background set up for pictures with the bunny. They were free, as well! What a treat.

On Saturday, my mom, Joanna's Big Momma, came to visit. I spent the early morning playing with Joanna, eating breakfast together, and watching a movie about a mouse. I colored a dozen eggs and Joanna couldn't wait to play with them. Later in the morning I cleaned up around the house, did some dishes and laundry, and Joanna and I ate some lunch. Mom and her friend Tub came over with presents for Joanna. I hid the eggs (in plain sight) and Joanna and Big Momma found them and put them in the basket. We ended up missing two eggs because Chester discovered what the brightly colored items were and decided to devour them. At least we got one good hunt in! :-) The dogs got out of the fence AGAIN (they got out on Thursday, too.) and some nice folks up the road brought them back. I went to the store and got some supplies for the house and some contributions for the dinner Rachel was going to have on Sunday.

Jason helped me make deviled eggs and they turned out pretty tasty. Jason and I enjoyed watching "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (the remake) in the evening.

On Sunday, we attended church and rushed home to get our food and go to Rachel's for dinner. We had a really nice afternoon visiting with Rachel, Canellen and Jennifer, and Jon and Barbara. Rachel pulled out some toys for Joanna and we all were amused with her, as always. She played on a small slide and became very confident about climbing up and sliding down. We watched old home movies and laughed at all the boys' goofy adolescent and young adult appearance. We stayed a little longer than we expected because Rachel hadn't set her living room clock for daylight savings. That was o.k., though because we all enjoyed ourselves.

Joanna's new teeth

Joanna is getting in two new teeth: the upper right molar and the bottom front second to the left. Wow. I need to learn the names of the teeth! She started on them on Easter, I believe. She had a bit of a temperature beginning in the evening and it was gone in the morning. Same thing followed the next night, temperature in the evening, gone in the morning. I think they broke through yesterday evening, but they aren't finished yet.

Special

There is something special about holding one's own child, so
small, but growing, small enough to be held and carried in one's arms for
years, and knowing that one day she will be too big to hold and carry.

I also think it is so special when I get home from work and my little girl
is so excited to see me. She has her own song she sings when she sees me.
It goes, "A mommy, a mommy, a mommy!"

I'm so glad that I don't have to be apart from her for more than a few
hours at a time.

Joanna's funny phrases

Joanna recently started telling us when she goes "poop."

Also, when she or someone else passes gas, she asks, "What was that?"

Yesterday, when she passed gas, she said, "What was that? -- I poop?"

The laughs just keep coming.

Joanna says "Hi Baby"

I've been trying to get Joanna to recognize that there is a baby in Mama's belly. Here is my feeble attempt:

Mom: Joanna, there's a baby in Mama's belly.
Mom: Joanna, What is in Mama's belly?
Joanna: (blank stare)


Yesterday, my newest attempt was humorously successful:

Mom: Joanna, there's a baby in Mama's belly.
Can you say "Hi baby?"

Joanna: (Looks at Mama's belly and waves) "Hi baby!"

Realizing things slowly

This pregnancy is different from my first. I don't seem to think about it as much, although I am excited. The further along I get, I do start to realize more and more, "Hey! I'm really pregnant!"

Silly Dog

Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2009

I have this dog, Pudgie. He drives me crazy sometimes.

Every morning, weather permitting, I let Joanna get two dog treats out of a canister (she gets two, one in each hand, sometimes both in one hand) and we go outside and give Chester and Pudgie a treat.

Chester is usually at the gate by the time we reach the gate, sometimes we get to the gate first, but not always. We go inside the gate and I sometimes either set Joanna down or I just hold her and she gives Chester one treat and he takes it gently from her hand.

Now, Pudgie is another story altogether. He'll stay in his dog house or in his lounging spot in the sun and, acknowledge our presence, but not appear to give one care that we have a treat for him. Maybe it's small dog syndrome, I don't know, but he won't come get the treat. We have to start out toward him and get about half the distance from where we started to him and he'll jump up and bound up to meet us and eagerly take the treat.

It's just fascinatingly irritating.

V8 and Salt & Vinegar Chips

Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009

I felt like I would actually get sick if I didn't drink a V8. I called Ian's Market and found out they had V8. I jumped in my vehicle and headed out. While there, I realized they had chips, too.

Joanna Pattycake

Joanna has been clapping her hands together for quite some time, but now she can pat them and say something similar to "patty cake." Yesterday, she threw out her hands for "throw it in a pan" :-)